SACRAMENTO – A developer who is the descendant of Greek immigrants proposed building one of the capital's tallest skyscrapers with a scale replica of the Parthenon on top.

Angelo G. Tsakopoulos unveiled plans recently for the 29-story office tower near the state Capitol that would honor his Greek ancestors.

"As a family, we will cherish the building as a tribute to the perseverance and accomplishment of our parents," Tsakopoulos told The Sacramento Bee.

The family, which has made money in real estate and is active in charitable organizations, has been in the United States five decades since coming from the Greek village of Rizai.

The 430,000-square-foot office building is estimated to cost between $105 million to $115 million.

While Tsakopoulos' company said city planners have expressed support for the project, not everyone thinks it's destined to be the city's architectural crown jewel.

Architect David Eisen called a rendering of the design an "uncomfortable mix of boring and overbearing."

"This is the kind of kitschy proposal that might make sense in Disneyland or Las Vegas," said Eisen, a former architecture critic for the Boston Herald. "It sends a very bad message to out-of-towners. It's like you have no faith in today or the future, so imitating the past is the only direction you can go."

Architect Edwin M. Kado, who designed the building with the replica of the Greek goddess Athena's temple, said he heard criticism when he designed a terraced pyramid that opened in 1998 along the Sacramento River. It was called hyped up and gaudy, but is now featured on nationally televised Sacramento Kings basketball games.

"Any worthy architecture needs to incite some interest and controversy," he said, "especially if you're going to create a memorable, distinctive building."